Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina is one of five Senate Democrats running for reelection next year in a state Mitt Romney won in 2012. Yet she's flashed something of a blue streak lately, coming out in support of gay marriage, and pledging to vote for a bipartisan measure to expand background checks on gun purchases.

The word, and whether President Obama used it quickly enough or correctly, became a political issue in last year’s campaign.

But Obama and his staff still appear to be puzzling over when — and how — to call an attack a “terrorist” act and when to wait for a clear determination of the motives behind one.

One of the Republican Party's biggest donors, the largest funder of one of the most well-known attack ad campaigns in modern campaign history, and the man who helped Mitt Romney in a big way last year died on Saturday night at the age of 80.

More than eight in 10 Americans believe that you should do everything you can to pay the lowest tax rate possible, according to new Washington Post-ABC News polling, a finding that suggests that people likely hold politicians to a standard of conduct they themselves don't adhere to.

Some social conservatives are threatening to decamp from the Republican Party if officials do not recommit to their issues.

In a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, the leaders of 13 social conservative groups demand a reaffirmation of the 2012 party platform, which calls for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and supports the Defense of Marriage Act.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to schedule a vote to bring gun legislation to the floor Thursday coupled with the news this morning that a bipartisan agreement had been reached on expanded background checks is being touted by advocates of gun control as a major step in the right direction.

Following reports that the acting president of Venezuela has put a curse on opposing voters, NBC's Jay Leno ponders what Mitt Romney might think about the idea:

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House Republicans are pushing for a "Romney economic plan," White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer charged Sunday.

"What the president will not do is come in right after getting reelected and enact a Romney economic plan, which is what the Republicans in the House are proposing," Pfeiffer said on ABC News's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

A New York hedge fund manager allegedly swindles $12 million from a prominent Baltimore family. An Indiana couple is accused of bilking hundreds of customers by charging for free trials of cosmetic products. A financial manager in Texas promises 23-percent returns but absconds with $33.5 million of his investors’ money in a classic Ponzi scheme.

Updated at 9:47 a.m.

When the latest monthly employment report was released Friday morning, you can bet that the White House had a very close eye on it.

No, we're no longer in the midst of the 2012 presidential campaign, in which each report served as an important political marker in the race between President Obama and Mitt Romney, with both sides pointing to the unemployment rate as a sign of progress or failure. But the reality is that while the report doesn't get nearly as much attention -- at least not in a political context -- these days, it's still a important part of the president's political standing.